Rice: How I remember our win against Barcelona

Steve Bould will be sat alongside Arsène Wenger as Arsenal take on Barcelona next week, but what about last time the two sides met?

Five years ago today, a week before the clubs face each other at the Emirates Stadium once more, Pat Rice was alongside the Arsenal manager as the Gunners claimed a famous victory. But what inspired it?

“He was absolutely brilliant and he kept us in the game. If he wasn’t in that kind of form then it could have been a cricket score by 20 minutes.”

Barcelona, then managed by Pep Guardiola, played some stunning football two years in a row in London. The first season saw Manuel Almunia shine before the visitors went 2-0 up, only to sacrifice their lead to goals from Theo Walcott and Cesc Fàbregas.

A year later, things weren’t too dissimilar, with memorable strikes courtesy of Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin turning the game on its head. Barcelona had been given the lead by David Villa, but Arsenal claimed a huge win.

“What I remember most, though, is that the actual fightback by the boys was just incredible. When you take into consideration how we actually played and how well Barcelona played in the opening 20 minutes, it was remarkable that we won that match,”Rice said.

“Time will tell whether we can do that again this season, but hopefully history will repeat itself when we meet them again.”